Wednesday 28 October 2015

Devil

"Devil" (2010, John Erick Dowdle, Media Rights Capital, The Night Chronicles, Blinding Edge Pictures, Universal Pictures) is a horror set in an elevator.

Detective Bowden (Chris Messina) is a recovering alcoholic who lost his wife and child in a hit and run several years beforehand. He's assigned to a suicide case where a man has jumped from a tall building in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, five strangers all become trapped in an elevator within the same building from which the man jumped.

The elevator lights go out, and to the dismay of the trapped people and the security guards watching the monitors, when they come back on one of the elevator's occupants is dead. Suspecting that someone inside the elevator is responsible, Detective Bowden becomes involved.

As the day goes on, more and more mysterious deaths happen inside the elevator. Everyone becomes more suspicious and tensions run high. Each character quickly reveals the darker sides of their personalities, and each trapped person has a dark secret. It soon becomes apparent that darker forces are at work here than just a murderer in their midst, as they begin to suspect that something evil is in the elevator with them, or maybe within one of them...

The film has a relatively slow build up after the initial shocking falling scene, but creates a good sense of tension throughout which I enjoyed. It's not a gory film, but enjoys some quick, jumpy scenes and a mystery vibe that kept me engaged as a viewer. As our trapped characters become more panicked and more paranoid, they reveal more about themselves. This film acts as a good character study and a morality message.

Whilst the general premise is simple, it's intriguing.

[Image: Universal Pictures, et al]
Hani

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